Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

The closing date is 10 March 2026

Job summary

Would you like to be part of a well established multi disciplinary health and social care team? Would you like to help to support and improve the lives of adults with learning disabilities within the London Borough of Islington? The Speech and Language Therapy team at Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership are looking for a part time Speech and Language Therapy assistant. The post holder will be key to supporting the speech and language therapists in a variety of ways, including delivering communication intervention programmes, making resources and supporting delivery of dysphagia and communication training for paid and family carers, local community day and residential/supported living services. You will be part of a well established speech and language therapy team and will be offered supervision to develop in the role.

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for further details.

For any queries or informal discussion, please contact Radhika Lingham, Clinical Lead SLT at r.lingham@nhs.net or on 07516 900 138

Main duties of the job

Please see the Job Description and the Persons Specification for further details about the job role.

About us

Working for your organisation ('About Us')

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Details

Date posted

17 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£30,546 to £32,207 a year inclusive of Inner HCAS pro rata, per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

220-WHT-3711

Job locations

Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership

52d Drayton Park

London

N5 1NS


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the full Job Description and Person Specification attached for further details.

The post holder will support the work of the Speech and Language Therapy teams in learning disabilities in theLondon Borough of Islington. They will carry out tasks to facilitate the communication skills of clients with a combination of direct and indirect supervision from a speech and language therapist. The postholder will work indirectly with clients support networks including family and paid carers. A significant part of the postholders work will consist of supporting carers to implement therapy approaches. They will undertake informal observation assessments as part of a broader client assessment protocol, and report back the results to the supervising clinician and will write these up in the clients case notes. They will complete comprehensive and timely documentation of input with the support and supervision of a speech and language therapist. This may include contribution to clinical reports, letters and case notes. They will prepare visual support materials eg communication books, communication passports etc, implement speech and language therapy packages of care, and assess the clients response to communication tools and strategies sessions. They will undertake administrative duties including managing the organisation of training courses.

As a result of experience and formal training, they will have a basic theoretical knowledge and understanding of the range of communication difficulties associated with people with learning disabilities, and of the appropriate communication approaches and techniques. The postholder will work both indirectly and directly with young adults and adults with learning disabilities who have associated syndromes and complex needs such as autism.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the full Job Description and Person Specification attached for further details.

The post holder will support the work of the Speech and Language Therapy teams in learning disabilities in theLondon Borough of Islington. They will carry out tasks to facilitate the communication skills of clients with a combination of direct and indirect supervision from a speech and language therapist. The postholder will work indirectly with clients support networks including family and paid carers. A significant part of the postholders work will consist of supporting carers to implement therapy approaches. They will undertake informal observation assessments as part of a broader client assessment protocol, and report back the results to the supervising clinician and will write these up in the clients case notes. They will complete comprehensive and timely documentation of input with the support and supervision of a speech and language therapist. This may include contribution to clinical reports, letters and case notes. They will prepare visual support materials eg communication books, communication passports etc, implement speech and language therapy packages of care, and assess the clients response to communication tools and strategies sessions. They will undertake administrative duties including managing the organisation of training courses.

As a result of experience and formal training, they will have a basic theoretical knowledge and understanding of the range of communication difficulties associated with people with learning disabilities, and of the appropriate communication approaches and techniques. The postholder will work both indirectly and directly with young adults and adults with learning disabilities who have associated syndromes and complex needs such as autism.

Person Specification

Education /Qualifications

Essential

  • Experience or NVQ in relevant field for children or adults with disabilities

Desirable

  • Training relevant to client group, eg Makaton, Intensive Interaction

Skills & Abilities

Essential

  • Good verbal communication
  • Good written communication
  • Good Microsoft Office - Word skills
  • Good listening skills
  • Good problem solving skills
  • Good organisational skills
  • Awareness of adapting communication styles with different people
  • Awareness of the need to gain support from supervising clinician
  • Commitment to continuous professional development with the support of clinical supervisor
  • Flexibility
  • Able to take initiative

Desirable

  • Good Microsoft Office - Excel and Powerpoint skills

Previous Experience

Essential

  • Experience of adults (16+) with learning disabilities
  • Experience of 1 or more of these specific approaches eg communication passports, communication books, visual timetables, Makaton signing, electronic aids, sensory approaches
Person Specification

Education /Qualifications

Essential

  • Experience or NVQ in relevant field for children or adults with disabilities

Desirable

  • Training relevant to client group, eg Makaton, Intensive Interaction

Skills & Abilities

Essential

  • Good verbal communication
  • Good written communication
  • Good Microsoft Office - Word skills
  • Good listening skills
  • Good problem solving skills
  • Good organisational skills
  • Awareness of adapting communication styles with different people
  • Awareness of the need to gain support from supervising clinician
  • Commitment to continuous professional development with the support of clinical supervisor
  • Flexibility
  • Able to take initiative

Desirable

  • Good Microsoft Office - Excel and Powerpoint skills

Previous Experience

Essential

  • Experience of adults (16+) with learning disabilities
  • Experience of 1 or more of these specific approaches eg communication passports, communication books, visual timetables, Makaton signing, electronic aids, sensory approaches

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership

52d Drayton Park

London

N5 1NS


Employer's website

https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership

52d Drayton Park

London

N5 1NS


Employer's website

https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist

Radhika Lingham

r.lingham@nhs.net

07516900138

Details

Date posted

17 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£30,546 to £32,207 a year inclusive of Inner HCAS pro rata, per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

220-WHT-3711

Job locations

Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership

52d Drayton Park

London

N5 1NS


Supporting documents

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